Mary (mother of Jesus)

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According to Christian belief, Mary, wife of Joseph, was the mother of Jesus. According to some she has a habit of appearing to random people in random places.

## Contents

* 1 Life
* 1.1 "Like a virgin, touched for the very first time..."
* 1.1.1 Perpetual virginity
* 1.2 Speculation
* 1.3 God as adulterer
* 1.4 "I was born an original sinner, I was born from original sin..."
* 1.5 Abducted by a UFO?
* 2 In Islam
* 3 Marian apparitions
* 4 Controversies
* 4.1 New Zealand billboards
* 4.2 As a defense for pedophilia
* 5 Notes
* 6 References

## Life[edit]

### "Like a virgin, touched for the very first time..."[edit]

See the main article on this topic: Virgin birth

Many Christians believe that Mary was a virgin when she bore Jesus, thus fulfilling an Old Testament prophesy. In fact, the so-called prophesy might be a mistranslation. The original text said a young woman (almah usually means "young woman" but can also mean "virgin") would give birth; the passage was translated using the Greek word parthenos (which can mean "young woman" but usually means "virgin").[1][2]

The concept of divine conception, rather than by natural means, held significant traction in the world Mary lived in. During that time there were many cults worshiping a god and his mother[3] and there were many other supposed cases of Virgin birth. This cultural backdrop made the notion of a divine pregnancy more credible and widespread among the people of that era.

#### Perpetual virginity[edit]

The doctrine of the Perpetual Virginity of Mary, a belief held by some Roman Catholic, Eastern Orthodox and Oriental Orthodox Christians, affirms that Mary was a virgin for her whole life, including before, during, and after the birth of Jesus, as well as his siblings. One or more of the following inferences can be drawn from the perpetual virginity of Mary:

* Joseph was the first recorded case of asexuality (whether it was his personal choice, he is born with it, or he has been forced by God to be asexual).
* After every time that Joseph and Mary had sexual intercourse, Mary's virginity was miraculously restored[note 1] — as it presumably was after the birth of Jesus.[note 2] (Something which is strangely reminiscent of what the Houri promised devout Muslims). And this is also impossible, because virgins by definition have never have had sex before, and thus the only way for God to have restored Mary's virginity is to mess with the past, which would create a time paradox.
* Joseph was the first recorded case of impotence (other cases simply aren't recorded).
* God's abstinence program probably went one step too far.

### Speculation[edit]

Possible alternative explanations for the generation of Jesus include the hypothesis that Joseph did it or that Mary was raped by a Roman soldier named Pantera. There were any number of men in Judea at the time who were biologically capable of fathering a child.[note 3]

### God as adulterer[edit]

Even if God did the deed and Mary didn’t go with any man, she was still an adulteress; at least that’s one Jewish interpretation of Deutronomy 22:23-24.[4][5]

### "I was born an original sinner, I was born from original sin..."[edit]

See the main article on this topic: Immaculate conception

Over time, people started to ask why Mary, of all women throughout the world and history, got to be the one special enough to give birth to Jesus. The answer that theologians ~~made up~~ realized was that Mary was special because she was born without original sin. [6] When asked how Mary’s parents managed to conceive a child without original sin, theologians said it was due to God’s intervention. This raises a huge problem: why doesn’t God intervene so the rest of us aren’t born with original sin?

### Abducted by a UFO?[edit]

Roman Catholics believe that Mary was assumed bodily into heaven, meaning that her body is there as well as her soul. The rest of the blessed will have to wait till Judgement Day to be reunited with their bodies or given new bodies.

## In Islam[edit]

See the main article on this topic: Islam

It is likely surprising to many Christians that Mary holds an important place within Islam. The Muslim and Christian views of Mary (usually called Maryam in Islam) and Jesus differ in one important aspect in that Muslims view Jesus as a mortal prophet and not created directly by God, as Christians believe. An entire chapter of the Qur'an is devoted to Mary Qur'an 19, Mary's House in Turkey is a pilgrimage site for both Christians and Muslims, devotional painting of Mary can be found in the Hagia Sophia Grand Mosque in Istanbul, and at least three mosques in the United States are named after Mary.[7]

## Marian apparitions[edit]

A Marian apparition is an event in which visions or images on objects of Mary allegedly appear in modern times. Marian apparitions are a popular way of encouraging pilgrims and tourists to visit a place.

## Controversies[edit]

### New Zealand billboards[edit]

Poor Joseph. God was a hard act to follow.

Around Christmas 2009 a dispute erupted in New Zealand over a billboard which hinted that Joseph may have gotten lucky at some point after the birth of Jesus.[8] Two years later another billboard from the same church depicted Mary holding a positive pregnancy test, and was promptly vandalised by Catholics.[9]

### As a defense for pedophilia[edit]

See the main article on this topic: Pedophilia

In 2017, Alabama State auditor Jim Ziegler claimed that "Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter", and therefore Alabama Senate contender Roy Moore would have been justified in allegedly molesting a 14-year old girl.[10][11] Ziegler also invoked the Bible as a defense with Zachariah and Elizabeth:

“”Take the Bible. Zachariah and Elizabeth for instance. Zachariah was extremely old to marry Elizabeth and they became the parents of John the Baptist. Also take Joseph and Mary. Mary was a teenager and Joseph was an adult carpenter. They became parents of Jesus. There's just nothing immoral or illegal here. Maybe just a little bit unusual.

There are three problems with this bizarre line of reasoning, just from a Christian perspective:

1. Zachariah and Elizabeth were both elderly adults even though there was an age difference.
2. The claim that Mary was a teenager is based on the Apocrypha, which are regarded as unreliable (and non-canonical) by all mainstream Christians.[12]
3. Mary was a virgin, meaning Joseph did not have sex with her, at least until after Jesus' birth.

## Notes[edit]

1. ↑ Which may, or may not, have been painful every time, depend on the techniques used.
2. ↑ Since the church dogma holds that Jesus was her only son, this may imply some sort of infertility or permanent contraception that God implemented for Joseph or Mary.
3. ↑ In case you were in any doubt about this.

## References[edit]

1. ↑ Skeptics Annotated Bible, Isiah
2. ↑ The Problem of the Virgin Birth Prophecy (2003)
3. ↑ Kersey Graves 16 Chap 5 via Secular Web (infidels.org).
4. ↑ jews for Judaism, What are the implications of the New Testament claim that Jesus was "born under law"?
5. ↑ Skeptics Annotated Bible, Deuteronomy
6. ↑ Question 27. The sanctification of the Blessed Virgin New Advent.
7. ↑ I grew up Muslim in a Catholic community – and Mary represented common ground by Zeyneb Sayılgan (24 Dec 2024 07.00 EST) The Guardian.
8. ↑ Unholy row over New Zealand Mary and Joseph billboard (11:32 GMT, Thursday, 17 December 2009) BBC.
9. ↑ New Zealand: Virgin Mary Pregnancy Test Poster Shocks by Ewan Palmer (December 15, 2011 09:50 GMT) International Business Times.
10. ↑ Bible Scholars Disagree With the 'Jesus, Mary and Joseph' Defense of Roy Moore by Calvin Woodward (November 10, 2017) Time.
11. ↑ Alabama state auditor defends Roy Moore against sexual allegations, invokes Mary and Joseph by Philip Wegmann (Nov 9, 2017, 3:30 PM) Washington Examiner.
12. ↑ St. Joseph Catholic Encyclopedia (New Advent)

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Articles about the Bible

Old Testament: |  Goliath • Tamar • Tower of Babel • Abel • Joseph (Old Testament) • Firmament • Baal • Noah • Isaac • Ishmael • Amalekites • Curse of Ham • Jacob • Sodom and Gomorrah • Ezekiel's wheel • Lot • Nephilim • G'Tach • Joseph was Imhotep • Moses • Global flood • Cain • Gibeah • Abraham • Old Testament • Incubus and succubus myths • King David • Serpent seed doctrine • Leviathan • Messiah • Mark of Cain • Asherah • Nimrod • Sirach • Jezebel • Adam and Eve • Moloch • Book of Joel • Garden of Eden • Satan • List of actions prohibited by the Bible •
| Torah: |  Torah • Book of Exodus • Book of Genesis • Book of Leviticus • Book of Numbers • Book of Zechariah • Book of Deuteronomy •
| Old Testament History: |  Book of Esther • Book of Ezra • Book of Judges • Book of Ruth • Books of Chronicles • Books of Kings • Books of Samuel • Book of Joshua •
| Old Testament Wisdom: |  Ecclesiastes • Song of Solomon • Book of Job • Book of Proverbs • Book of Psalms •
| Major and Minor Prophets: |  Book of Daniel • Book of Ezekiel • Book of Isaiah • Book of Lamentations • Book of Jeremiah •
New Testament: |  Mary Magdalene • New Testament • Joseph of Arimathea • Paul of Tarsus • Good Samaritan • Authorship of the New Testament • Magi • John the Baptist • Principalities and powers • Joseph (husband of Mary) • Nag Hammadi library • Messiah • Jesus • Gospel of Barnabas • Peter the Apostle • Pontius Pilate • Judas Iscariot • Book of Revelation •
| Gospels and Acts: |  Acts of the Apostles • Gospels • Q gospel • Gospel of John • Gospel of Mark • Gospel of Luke • Gospel of Matthew •
| Pauline Epistles: |  Corinthians • Galatians • Ephesians • Colossians • Epistle to the Philippians • Epistle to Philemon • Epistle to the Romans • Epistle to Titus • First Epistle to the Thessalonians • Second Epistle to the Thessalonians • Second Epistle to Timothy • First Epistle to Timothy •
| General Epistles: |  Epistle of Jude • Epistle of James • Epistle to the Hebrews • First Epistle of John • First Epistle of Peter • Second Epistle of John • Second Epistle of Peter • Third Epistle of John •
Bible analysis: |  Apocalyptic literature • Authorship of the New Testament • Bible interpolation • Biblical sexism • Bibliolatry • Documentary hypothesis • Evidence for the Exodus • Gospels • Horizontal reading • King James Only • Pesher • Q gospel • Septuagint • Skeptic's Annotated Bible • Ten Commandments • Torah • Bible translation • Word of God • Biblical literalism • Biblical contradictions • List of mistakes made by God • Abomination • Firmament • G'Tach • Arsenokoites • Genealogy of Jesus • Nag Hammadi library • Noah's Ark • Annotated Bible • Slavery in the Bible • Examples of God personally killing people • Herod • The Brick Testament • Evidence against a recent creation • EvilBible.com • List of actions prohibited by the Bible • Biblical scientific errors •
| Bible translations: |  Cockney Bible • Douay-Rheims • Jefferson Bible • King James Only • Septuagint • Vetus Latina • Bible translation • Annotated Bible •
| Apocrypha: |  Didache • Apocrypha • Nag Hammadi library • Book of Judith • 2 Maccabees • 3 Maccabees • 4 Maccabees • Books of Enoch • Books of the Maccabees • Gospel of Judas • Gospel of Mary • Gospel of Philip • Gospel of Thomas • Infancy Gospel of James • Infancy Gospel of Thomas • 1 Maccabees •
Biblical figures: |  Abel • Cain • Ishmael • Jacob • Joseph of Arimathea • Joseph (Old Testament) • Noah • Paul of Tarsus • Mary Magdalene • Lot • Goliath • Nephilim • Moses • YHWH • Amalekites • Baal • King David • Joseph (husband of Mary) • God • Jesus • Asherah • Nimrod • Habakkuk • Adam and Eve • Herod • Pontius Pilate • Jezebel • Tamar • Judas Iscariot • Satan •
Bible woo: |  Jesus diet • Name it and claim it • Snake handling • Speaking in tongues • Spiritual warfare • The Bible Code • Gematria • Stigmata • Biblical longevity • Hanzi of Genesis • Dr. Bronner's Soap • Presidential Prayer Team • Trinity Broadcasting Network • Zecharia Sitchin • James Ussher • Creation Week • Zion Oil and Gas • The Drama of the Lost Disciples • Roman Piso • Jose Luis de Jesús • Prayer • Black Hebrew Israelites • Jonathan Otto • Benny Hinn • Presents Of God Ministry • Solfeggio frequencies • Ken Ham • Harold Camping • Institute for Creation Research • Steve Quayle • Kabbalah Center • Acharya S • Christian Identity • Peter J. Peters • Ezekiel's wheel • Creation Research • Biblical scientific foreknowledge • British Israelism •
| Scientific foreknowledge: |  Gaps between Science and the Bible • Scientific Facts in the Bible: 100 Reasons to Believe the Bible is Supernatural in Origin • Science Confirms the Bible • Eternal Productions: 101 Scientific Facts and Foreknowledge • Modern Science in the Bible • Biblical scientific foreknowledge •